Katie Boulter suffered a chastening loss to Diane Parry as France took a 1-0 lead over Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie.
British number one Boulter won the first two games of the match and then lost 12 in a row as Parry claimed a 6-2 6-0 victory on the clay in Le Portel.
Boulter started well but Parry, bolstered by the partisan crowd, mixed power and touch to secure the win.
Emma Raducanu plays Caroline Garcia next in Friday's singles.
The tie in northern France is best-of-five matches, with the winner earning a spot in November's finals.